Monday, April 28, 2008

In this second installment of Craig Newmark's "Craigslist Etiquette" interview series, Craig enlightens Urban-Etiquette.net readers to considerate mannerisms in the Craigslist For Sale category...

Urban-Etiquette:It's super-annoying how some people respond to a sales listing once, and then disappear completely. Do you think people should provide “closure” after expressing interest or is it acceptable etiquette to simply disappear?Craig Newmark:This definitely falls under the umbrella of "treating others as you want to be treated," which I interpret as: Yes, you should close the loop. Don’t leave people hanging. In real life however, it is sometimes hard to do that. And remember: email is not a completely reliable form of communication!

Other bad manners we've observed on the site include: Misleading sales descriptions or postings for items that were already sold but not taken downAgain, Golden Rule – here I’d say that means that you should be honest in your ads

Third-party solicitors offering to “help” sell a high-ticket item in exchange for a percentage of the sale priceWhen it comes to being solicited in any manner, there are a number of gray areas. But if you’re approaching someone other than in the way they indicated then that even gets into deceptive advertising or spam.

We're faced with challenge of running open and democratic system. There are very few bad people but there are bad people.It's like what Jon Stewart says: you hear more from extremists because moderates actually have stuff to do!

Any other etiquette tips for the Sales section?Some of the ones I hear most users are:

Don't post in all capital letters

Remove listings when they are settled

And if you commit to selling something, follow through with it! Even if someone else comes through with a higher offer.

Thanks for clarifying that Craig.

Now that it's official, message to Craigslist poster "SoxRoxr36:"Why you didn't call us when we was 'posed to swap for those Carrot Top tickets, man?? Ain't right. Just ain't right.